Published: 13.7.2023
A few weeks ago, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás made a cynical mockery of my credibility, calling me a downright liar with a metaphor, after I revealed that several Hungarian agri-businessmen and farmers had complained to me about the lack of fresh agricultural tenders, which had not been announced for a long time.
At the time, I found it most likely that the government, as a result of its misguided economic policies, was in such dire financial straits that it was unable to pay the state’s share of the EU calls for tender and therefore preferred to sneakily not advertise them at all. It is well known that the cabinet has committed to a very substantial co-financing of around 80 per cent, which is no small amount considering the total budget. So if there are no tenders, there is no expenditure for the time being, so the Orbán government is saving money on Hungarian farmers, while pointing the finger at Brussels in a deceitful way.
The Cabinet Minister accusingly claimed that there was nothing to see here, that all agricultural money was arriving unhindered. The fact is that there is indeed no problem with area-based subsidies, they are reaching those concerned: however, as I indicated, the tenders that could be launched on the basis of the strategic plan adopted at the end of last year are still not being called, despite the government’s claims to the contrary.
I do not like to be called a liar without reason; especially by a lying government. So I did not leave it at that and, in connection with the agricultural tenders that were being held back, I appealed first to the responsible member of the Orbán government and then to the European Commission. The Minister of Agriculture István Nagy tried to cover up the matter, but the sentence in future tense in his response letter, which stated that the funds to be drawn down as part of the Strategic Plan of Common Agricultural Policy „will be released gradually in consultation with the sector”, already foreshadowed the fact that the Cabinet Minister’s condescending statements did not, ‘fully reflect the truth,’ so to say.
According to the Strategic Plan adopted by the European Commission, Hungary has some €8.4 billion at its disposal, of which at least €2 billion is to be spent on climate and environmental objectives and agro-ecological programmes, and €186 million on support for young agricultural producers. That’s a lot of money and it could be put to good use in many places; if only Fidesz were not holding it back.
I have recently written to the European Commission on the matter and Janusz Wojciechowski replied to my letter. The EU Commissioner for Agriculture said that it was up to the Member States to decide on the timing of the tenders and that the Hungarian government had in principle started implementing the programme in April this year by opening the application period. However, he added that the Hungarian government had „decided to publish the calls for applications under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) at a later stage”. According to the EU Commissioner’s letter, the Hungarian government has informed the European Commission that it will only start tendering for the funds available under the agreed Strategic Plan once the remaining funds from the previous seven-year EU budget period for tenders are fully used up.
Let me translate for you what that means in Brussels: it is a fact that the government has not yet published the agricultural tenders referred to, which means that the government has lied about it and the outrage of the farmers and entrepreneurs who have come to me is more than justified. It is a fact that, although the government could have already put these opportunities out to tender, it is almost clear that it is deliberately not doing so because of the lack of money and truthfulness. Yet another case of a sneaky, lying government being exposed. Sadly, in the NER era, this is a daily occurrence.
dr. István Ujhelyi
Member of the European Parliament / Founder of the Community of Chance (Esély Közösség)
9/7/2023